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... Combustion from automobiles constitutes one of the major sources of particulate emissions, especially the respirable fraction and is directly related to human health [19]. According to Kisku et al. [20] and Sharma et al. [21] vehicle related emissions is the main source of particulate pollution in Lucknow. Except for storage batteries, paint and gasoline additives were the two major high-volume products containing Pb; about the same quantity of Pb, 5 to 6 million metric tons, was used to manufacture each [22]. ...
... These values were 60 folds (for Eleme) and 90 folds (for Ahoada East) higher than WHO limits. Fe had higher concentrations at Eleme than Ahoada East and these levels were higher than levels recorded by Sharma et al. [21], Singh et al. [41]. The Fe could have been from both natural and anthropogenic origin [46]. ...
... For instance Singh et al. [41] showed a correlation of PM 10 with Zn (r = 0.39, p < 0.05) and Ni (r = 0.36, p < 0.05). Also Barman et al. [45] showed a correlation of Ni (r = 0.71, p < 0.01), Cd (r = 0.65 < 0.01) with PM 10 and similarly Sharma et al. [21] showed correlation of Fe (r = 0.71, p > 0.05) with PM 10 .This suggests that trace metals adsorbed on particulate matter are linearly dependent on the PM 10 levels. In the present study nearly all the metals were poorly correlated with PM 10 even though only the correlation between Pb and PM 10 is being reported. ...
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The objective of this study was to determine the spatial variation of particle-bound heavy metals in two communities with different industrial status in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Area. Fourteen ambient respirable particulate matter (PM10) samples 7 each from Eleme (highly industrialized) and Ahoada East (less industrialized) communities were collected according to standard methods using Anderson High volume sampler. Samples were analyzed for trace metals including Fe, Zn, Ni, Cd, and Pb using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Man Whitney U test and Spearman Rank Correlation all at P APE3 > APE7 > APE1 > APE4 > APE6 > APE2. Fe, Zn and Cd were higher at Eleme than Ahoada East and the EC/WHO values. Pb was poorly correlated with PM10 (r 2 = 0.0819, P > 0.05) at Eleme. Communities with higher industrial presence in the Niger Delta are more exposed to particulate burden. Routine monitoring and strict adherence to regulatory limits must be enforced.
... The presence of respirable particulates having aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ) and < 2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals have been reported earlier in the air environment of Lucknow. [1][2][3] The potential source of these toxic pollutants in the city is due to increased number of vehicles coupled with traffic jams producing a variety of pollutants and also due to substantial industrial growth. In the domestic sector, the major fuel used is LPG and to some extent Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and still a large number of urban population of India is using kerosene, wood, coal, cow dung cake, agricultural waste and rubber tyre for cooking and heating. ...
... The values of PM 10, Table 3). The results of the present study are comparable with those of Sharma et al. [2] who found that the concentration of PM 10 ranged between 127.2-166.5 µg/m 3 for residential area, 127.3-237.8 µg/m 3 for commercial area and 107 µg/m 3 in an industrial area of Lucknow. ...
... The concentration of lead and other metals observed in this study was lower than the reported concentrations of respective metals in earlier studies carried out in Lucknow. [2] The decrease in metal concentration in Lucknow might be due to phasing out of old vehicles, induction of new generation of low emission vehicles and battery operated vehicles, unleaded petrol, CNG and implementation of stringent emission standards in recent years. ...
... The presence of respirable particulates having aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ) and < 2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals have been reported earlier in the air environment of Lucknow. [1][2][3] The potential source of these toxic pollutants in the city is due to increased number of vehicles coupled with traffic jams producing a variety of pollutants and also due to substantial industrial growth. In the domestic sector, the major fuel used is LPG and to some extent Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and still a large number of urban population of India is using kerosene, wood, coal, cow dung cake, agricultural waste and rubber tyre for cooking and heating. ...
... The values of PM 10, Table 3). The results of the present study are comparable with those of Sharma et al. [2] who found that the concentration of PM 10 ranged between 127.2-166.5 µg/m 3 for residential area, 127.3-237.8 µg/m 3 for commercial area and 107 µg/m 3 in an industrial area of Lucknow. ...
... The concentration of lead and other metals observed in this study was lower than the reported concentrations of respective metals in earlier studies carried out in Lucknow. [2] The decrease in metal concentration in Lucknow might be due to phasing out of old vehicles, induction of new generation of low emission vehicles and battery operated vehicles, unleaded petrol, CNG and implementation of stringent emission standards in recent years. ...
Article
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Ubiquitous fine particulates can readily be bound to toxic metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and are considered to be a great threat to human health. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of air pollution risks to public health by determining four crucial parameters- inhalable particulates, metals in particulates and PAHs which are associated with PM in the air environment of Lucknow, India during 2007-09. The values of PM and PM ranged between 102.3-240.5 and 28.0-196.9 μg/m whilst the average PM was 1.7 times and PM was 1.5 times higher than their respective NAAQS of 100 and 60 μg/m respectively. The estimated relative death rate and hospital admissions for each increase in the PM levels of 10 μg/m ranged from 1.5-8% and from 3.9-8.0% (as per APHEA2 1990) respectively in persons > 65 yrs. Among the locations; AQ, AQ and AQ (with diversified activities and heavy traffic) recorded higher concentrations of both the particulate fractions than the AQ (residential area with low traffic). The average concentrations of Fe, Pb, Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd in PM were 219.4, 40.6, 35.1, 27.3, 22.2 and 16.2 ng/m and that in PM were 54.3, 33.9, 38.5, 29.4, 8.4, and 1.17 ng/m respectively Regression analysis revealed that correlation of metals with PM was stronger than PM. The ratio of metals adsorbed on surface of particles (PM:PM) reveals that PM has more affinity for Ni, Cu and Pb and PM for Cd, Fe and Cr. Health risk due to carcinogenic metals bound to respirable particulates was predicted by estimating excess cancer risk (ECR). The highest ECR value was estimated for Cr, 266.70 × 10, which was associated with PM10 and 100.92 × 10 which was associated with PM, whereas lead has the lowest ECR value. Amongst PAHs, benzo(a)pyrene (51.96±19.71 ng/m) was maximum in PM samples. Maximum concentrations of PM, PM, metals and PAHs were detected during winter, and the lowest was during monsoon. The higher prevalence of diseases among the population may be due to high concentration of particulates coated with toxic metals and PAHs present in air environment.
... The presence of respirable particulates having aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ) and < 2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals have been reported earlier in the air environment of Lucknow. [1][2][3] The potential source of these toxic pollutants in the city is due to increased number of vehicles coupled with traffic jams producing a variety of pollutants and also due to substantial industrial growth. In the domestic sector, the major fuel used is LPG and to some extent Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and still a large number of urban population of India is using kerosene, wood, coal, cow dung cake, agricultural waste and rubber tyre for cooking and heating. ...
... The values of PM 10, Table 3). The results of the present study are comparable with those of Sharma et al. [2] who found that the concentration of PM 10 ranged between 127.2-166.5 µg/m 3 for residential area, 127.3-237.8 µg/m 3 for commercial area and 107 µg/m 3 in an industrial area of Lucknow. ...
... The concentration of lead and other metals observed in this study was lower than the reported concentrations of respective metals in earlier studies carried out in Lucknow. [2] The decrease in metal concentration in Lucknow might be due to phasing out of old vehicles, induction of new generation of low emission vehicles and battery operated vehicles, unleaded petrol, CNG and implementation of stringent emission standards in recent years. ...
Article
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The PM(10) concentration (μg/m(3)) in Lucknow city at 4 locations in three different seasons ranged between 148.6-210.8 (avg. 187.2 ± 17.1) during summer, 111.8-187.6 (avg. 155.7 ± 22.7) during monsoon and 199.3-308.8 (avg. 269.3 ± 42.9) during winter while PM(2.5) ranged between 32.4-67.2 (avg. 45.6 ± 10.9), 25.6-68.9 (avg. 39.8 ± 4.6) and 99.3-299.3 (avg. 212.4 ± 55.0) during respective seasons. The mass fraction ratio of PM(2.5) ranged between 0.22-0.92 (avg. 0.42 ± 0.26) and was significantly high during winter season indicating their composition.
... Many Indian cities have reported low health status standards among the residents (Subbaraman et al., 2012). In Lucknow, the RespirableSuspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) concentration, its associated trace metals' concentration, the concentration of PM 10 ranges between 107.6 and 237.8 lg/m 3 , which is a way beyond the permissible limit of 60 lg/m 3 of NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) and many times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards (Sharma et al., 2006;WHO, 2016). Studies have shown that ambient air pollution in large urban centers of India, such as Lucknow, is way above the NAAQS (Barman et al., 2010;Ghose et al., 2005;Horaginamani et al., 2010;Central Pollution Control Board, 2014CPCB, 2018;Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, 2016Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, 2017). ...
... The major reason for choosing this city for our study is that the concentration of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), its associated trace metals, and that of PM 10 ranged between 107.6 and 237.8 lg/m 3 which is beyond the permissible limit of 60 lg/m 3 of NAAQS and many times higher than the WHO air quality standards (Sharma et al., 2006). Air quality monitoring station of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at Lalbagh and Aliganj have revealed that toxic substances in the atmosphere keep rising all day as the Air Quality Index (AQI) is nearly 469 lg/m 3 at Aliganj and 463 lg/m 3 at Lalbagh, and PM 2.5 is the major pollutant at both locations (CPCB, 2018). ...
Article
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Ambient air pollution, particularly in the urban environment of developing countries, has turned out to be a major health risk factor. We explore the compounded impact of age sensitivity, exposure, poverty, co-morbidity, etc., along with composite air pollution in determining morbidity and health burden of people in Lucknow, India. This cross-sectional study is confined to analyse respiratory health status across different socioeconomic and geographic locations using n = 140 in-depth questionnaire method. We used mean daily ambient air pollution data of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , SO 2, and NO 2 for the 2008-2018 period. We used the ecological model framework to assess the risk at different hierarchical levels and compounded severity on a spatial scale. We also used Logistic regression model with log odds and odds ratio to analyze the association of risks outcomes with composite air pollution scores calculated using the principal component analysis method. There is a strong association of location-specific respiratory disease prevalence with an overall 32 percent prevalence. The prevalence of ecological model 1 (individual domain) is 4.3 percent, while ecological model 2 (community domain) has the highest prevalence at 32.4 percent. The logistic regression model shows that respiratory disease load is positively associated with age sensitivity (P \ .001) and composite pollution level (P \ .001). For another model with suffocation as the outcome variable, composite pollution level (P \ .001) and exposure (P \ .001) are positively associated. Optimum interventions are required at Ecological models 1, 2, and 3 levels for better respiratory health outcomes.
... Many Indian cities have reported low health status standards among the residents (Subbaraman et al., 2012). In Lucknow, the RespirableSuspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) concentration, its associated trace metals' concentration, the concentration of PM 10 ranges between 107.6 and 237.8 lg/m 3 , which is a way beyond the permissible limit of 60 lg/m 3 of NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) and many times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards (Sharma et al., 2006;WHO, 2016). Studies have shown that ambient air pollution in large urban centers of India, such as Lucknow, is way above the NAAQS (Barman et al., 2010;Ghose et al., 2005;Horaginamani et al., 2010;Central Pollution Control Board, 2014CPCB, 2018;Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, 2016Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, 2017). ...
... The major reason for choosing this city for our study is that the concentration of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), its associated trace metals, and that of PM 10 ranged between 107.6 and 237.8 lg/m 3 which is beyond the permissible limit of 60 lg/m 3 of NAAQS and many times higher than the WHO air quality standards (Sharma et al., 2006). Air quality monitoring station of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at Lalbagh and Aliganj have revealed that toxic substances in the atmosphere keep rising all day as the Air Quality Index (AQI) is nearly 469 lg/m 3 at Aliganj and 463 lg/m 3 at Lalbagh, and PM 2.5 is the major pollutant at both locations (CPCB, 2018). ...
Article
Full-text available
Ambient air pollution, particularly in the urban environment of developing countries, has turned out to be a major health risk factor. We explore the compounded impact of age sensitivity, exposure, poverty, co-morbidity, etc., along with composite air pollution in determining morbidity and health burden of people in Lucknow, India. This cross-sectional study is confined to analyse respiratory health status across different socio-economic and geographic locations using n = 140 in-depth questionnaire method. We used mean daily ambient air pollution data of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 for the 2008–2018 period. We used the ecological model framework to assess the risk at different hierarchical levels and compounded severity on a spatial scale. We also used Logistic regression model with log odds and odds ratio to analyze the association of risks outcomes with composite air pollution scores calculated using the principal component analysis method. There is a strong association of location-specific respiratory disease prevalence with an overall 32 percent prevalence. The prevalence of ecological model 1 (individual domain) is 4.3 percent, while ecological model 2 (community domain) has the highest prevalence at 32.4 percent. The logistic regression model shows that respiratory disease load is positively associated with age sensitivity (P < .001) and composite pollution level (P < .001). For another model with suffocation as the outcome variable, composite pollution level (P < .001) and exposure (P < .001) are positively associated. Optimum interventions are required at Ecological models 1, 2, and 3 levels for better respiratory health outcomes.
... Since last several decades' air pollution is mainly accredited to urban and industrial areas, but now it is frightening to the rural areas also (Abu-Allaban et al., 2007). Urban population is particularly exposed to elevated levels of PM including trace metals (V, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cd, Mn, Ba, Sr, Al, U, Th, Zr, Cs, Rb, Sb, Sn and Cu) due to vehicular exhaust, whereas combustion of fossil fuels produces V, As, Cu, Co, Mo, Ni, Sb, Cr, Fe, Mn and Sn (Moreno et al., 2006;Sharma et al., 2006). Most of the trace metals have toxic effects on living organism if their concentration is exceeded to desired limit (Shinggu et al., 2010). ...
... Several studies have reported the trace metal concentration in PM across Indo-Gangetic planes and their adverse effect on human health Kumar et al., 2015;Barman et al., 2008;Khillare et al., 2004;Tiwari et al., 2014a). Vehicular traffic is the main source of particulate air pollution in Lucknow city (Kisku et al., 2003;Sharma et al., 2006). The total vehicular population of the Lucknow is 1,709,662 as on 31.03.2015 which is 10.08% higher over the last year (Regional Transport Office, Lucknow, 2015). ...
... It is also found out that metals like Pb, Mn, Cr and Cu showed significant positive correlation with RSPM. Vehicular traffic is the main source of particulate air pollution in Lucknow city (Sharma et al., 2006;Barman et al., 2008). Bhaskar et al., 2010 reported that, there was a continuous decrease of particulate pollutants concentrations within Ahmedabad; however, the concentrations were just above the permissible limits set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). ...
... Vehicular emission is responsible for higher level of air pollutants like SPM, RSPM, SO 2 , NOx, organic and inorganic pollutants including trace metals and their adverse effects on human and environmental health (Kaushik et al., 2006;Maitre et al., 2006;Curtis et al., 2006;Sharma et al., 2006;Jayaraman, 2007). Technological upgradation and scientific know how has reduced the pollution level, however, increase in number of vehicles causes more emission of pollutants and change the composition ratio of the pollutants (Zanini et al., 2006). ...
Article
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Air pollution is an important issue around the world. Evidence of air pollution and its impact has been well established by the scientific communities. The effects of these changes on the smaller towns in Brahmaputra valley of Assam still need to be investigated. This study concludes that Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) shows increasing trend in all the seasons except during the monsoon season but significant during the winter season. The study also reveals that RSPM remained above the standards throughout the decade, unlike SPM, which rose above the standards only during the years 2006, 2008 and 2009. It is also observed that during the rainy seasons Coefficient of Variation (CV) is high in maximum numbers of stations. The study concludes that exponential increase in population; vehicular activities, rainfall and wind direction as well as geographical conditions have indirectly influenced the pollutions.
... In the developing countries, air quality crisis in cities is attributed to vehicular emission which contributes to 40-80% of total air pollution. The urban population is mainly exposed to high levels of air pollution including metals as well as fine and ultrafine particles [8] from the vehicular emission [9]. Every city has its own characteristics which becomes the pull factor for its growth and development and this developmental progress, if not checked posse's risks to environment and health of the people. ...
Article
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Air pollution is a major public health concern as there is increasing amount of evidence that the quality of air significantly affects our health due to the presence of various toxic pollutants. Any gas could qualify as pollution if it reached a high enough concentration to harm theoretically that means there are dozens of different pollution gases. In practice SO2, CO2, CO, NO2, VOCS, Particulates, Chlorofluorocarbons, Unburned hydrocarbons and Lead and heavy metals causes more concern. There are numerous diseases that caused by air pollution. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) long term exposure to air pollutants causes respiratory illnesses, the children’s and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the detrimental health effects. Urban air quality is a matter concern because of exposure of large number of people to it. This paper access the ambient air quality status in Chikkamagaluru city. Chikkamagaluru is a city of Coffee lands and it covers with Forest area, with its supremacy in manufacturing Coffee powder, Ply woods and copper sulphate for Coffee plantation. The air quality being assessed based on measuring four major air pollutants namely suspended particulate matter (SPM), Respirable Suspended particulate matter (RSPM), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Sulphur dioxide (SO2). The air quality assessment in Chikkamagaluru city for three successive years shows increasing trends of air pollution. Even though the SO2 and NO2 levels remain under prescribed limit with minor fluctuations with reference to the prescribed limit was given by National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). But the average concentration of SPM and RSPM has increased year by year. The study reveals that Chickmagalur has been heavily polluted in all aspects.
... Although, the contamination of environment due to dust particulates and toxic gases emanating through fossil fuel burning and industrial processes draws serious attention for their potential threat to the ecosystem [5,6,7]. such contamination in regions with industrial clusters and large ports is a matter of concern. ...
Article
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The impact of coastal developmental projects such as ports on regional air quality has been a matter of concern, as they are known to induce rapid industrialization and urbanization as collateral development on a long-term basis. Gandhidham-Kachchh, Gujarat, India is hub for industrialization, thus various developmental activities and port activities may release toxic gases into the environment. Thus, an attempt was made to assess the present ambient air quality in and around eastern coastal region of Gandhidham, Gujarat using Air Quality Index (AQI) and Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). The primary focus was on respirable particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) along with other gaseous pollutants. In total 134 samples were collected from 11 stations during January to December 2018. Sampling was carried out 24 hourly on a monthly basis. Respirable particulate matter (PM10), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide ranged from 29-401 µg/m3, 13-184 µg/m3, 5.9-92.6 µg/m3and 3.7-33 µg/m3, respectively. The annual mean concentrations varied from 118-227 µg/m3, 47-82 µg/m3, 10-51 µg/m3, 11-41 µg/m3 for PM10, PM2.5, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, respectively. In most of the sampling locations both the particulate matter fractions exceeded the permissible limit as prescribed in National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The AQI ranged from 28 to 106, which falls under Good and Satisfactory category of pollution as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards except at A-11 which falls under Moderate category. The AQHI was in the range of 5.9 to 15.8, which was alarming indicating Moderate to Very Higher Risk to the people. The present findings throw light on the prevailing scenario in the ambient air quality of the studied region, thereby suggesting for strict implementation and thorough control measures for reduction of particulate matters in the air.
... According to the data given by the Census of India population of Lucknow is 2815033 and the present area (2011) of Lucknow is envisaged to be 310 sq km. 12 About 1552695 (2014) registered vehicles are plying on the roads of city as per Road Transport Office (RTO) Lucknow records. 13 The city is situated between 26 0 52'N latitude and 80 0 56'E longitude at an average altitude of 128 meters above mean sea level and generally slopes to the east. Lateral slopes are towards the River Gomti, which flows from North-West to South-East through the heart of city, dividing it into the Trans-Gomti and Cis-Gomti regions. ...
Article
Urban air pollution is one of the major environmental problems faced by the developing countries. Studies in large Indian cities revealed that ambient air pollution concentrations are at such levels where it can cause serious health impacts. Lucknow, a fast growing city is not an exception to this. Researchers from the city have studied various aspects of air pollution during the last one and half decades, identified particulate matter as the main air pollutant in city. A few studies of indoor environment in households due to various type of fuels used in cooking from urban and nearby rural areas have also identified particulates and associated PAHs as major indoor air pollutant. The objective of this review article is to analyze the air pollution status of city, associated environmental and health impacts and possible control measures presented in studies on Lucknow from the available literature. Particulate fractions viz.; PM 2.5 , PM 10 and SPM were reported to be exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limits in most of the studies but oxides of sulphur and nitrogen (SO 2 and NO x) were within the limit of 80 μg/m 3. Lack of dispersion of pollutants in winter season was reported to be the main reason for highest air pollution during this season and minimum in monsoon due to washout by rains. Commercial areas with high traffic volume recorded higher air pollution levels than residential and industrial areas with low traffic density. Vehicular traffic was identified the major source of air pollution in the city. Air pollution level at control site (village or low traffic density area) was lower than other urban sites. Particulates and associated toxic chemicals (metals and PAHs) and gaseous pollutants have found to be toxic to human and plants in Lucknow. The exposure of these pollutants is associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, neurological impairments, increased risk of preterm birth and even mortality and morbidity. A few studies focusing roadside air pollution have shown high air pollution concentration as well as adverse impact on chlorophyll content of roadside plants. Authorities have been sensitized from the findings of these studies and initiated measures to control vehicular pollution, create awareness and better control of traffic by traffic police. However the efforts made so far are inadequate to maintain good air quality. In view of the rapid growth of Lucknow city in term of area, population and number of registered vehicles, planning and implementation of suitable air pollution control measures are necessary to protect the health of its citizens.
... Increased industrial and construction activities, unregulated energy and fuel consumption, unchecked vehicular pollution, and unsustainable urbanisation are major driving forces for poor air quality in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, 2019). The aerosol loadings in the city have been unprecedentedly high for the last 2 decades (Sharma et al., 2006;Markandeya et al., 2021;Lawrence and Fatima, 2014). The PM 2.5 concentrations were found to be highest in the industrial area during winter compared to residential and commercial spaces (Pandey et al., 2012(Pandey et al., , 2013. ...
Article
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Lucknow is the capital of India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, one of South Asia's most polluted urban cities. Tropospheric photochemistry relies on non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), which are ozone and secondary organic aerosol precursors. Using the proton-transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) at an urban background site in Lucknow, the chemical characterisation of NMVOCs was performed in real time from December 2020 to May 2021. About ∼ 173 NMVOCs from m/z 31.018 to 197.216 were measured during the study period, including aromatics, non-aromatics, oxygenates, and nitrogen-containing compounds. The campaign daily mean concentrations of the NMVOCs were 125.5 ± 37.5 ppbv. The NMVOC daily average concentrations were about ∼ 30 % higher during the winter months (December–February) than in summer (March–May). The oxygenated volatile organic compounds and aromatics were the dominant VOC families, accounting for ∼ 57 %–80 % of the total NMVOC concentrations. Acetaldehyde, acetone, and acetic acid were the major NMVOC species, 5–15 times higher than the other species. An advanced multi-linear engine (ME-2) model was used to perform the NMVOC source apportionment using positive matrix factorisation (PMF). It resolves the five main sources contributing to these organic compounds in the atmosphere. They include traffic (23.5 %), two solid fuel combustion factors, SFC 1 (28.1 %) and SFC 2 (13.2 %), secondary volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) (18.6 %), and volatile chemical products (VCPs) (16.6 %). Aged and fresh emissions from solid fuel combustion (SFCs 1 and 2) were the dominant contributors to the total NMVOCs, and compounds related to these factors had a high secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation potential. Interestingly, the traffic factor was the second-highest contributor to the total NMVOCs, and compounds related to this factor had a high ozone formation potential. Significant differences in the composition of the two solid fuel combustions indicate the influence of local emissions and transport of regional pollution to the city. The high temperature during summer leads to more volatilisation of oxygenated VOCs, related to the VCP factor. The study is the first attempt to highlight the sources of NMVOCs and their contribution to secondary pollutant (SOA and O3) formation in the city of Lucknow during winter and summer. The insights from the study would help various stakeholders to manage primary and secondary pollutants within the city.
... Here, we deployed real-time instruments in Lucknow city, situated in the middle of the Indo-Gangetic plain, to understand the contribution of long-range transport and local VOC emissions. The aerosol loadings in 75 the city have been unprecedentedly high for the last two decades (Lawrence and Fatima, 2014;Markandeya et al., 2021;Sharma et al., 2006). The PM2.5 concentrations were found to be highest in the industrial area during winter compared to residential and commercial spaces (Pandey et al., 2013(Pandey et al., , 2012. ...
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Lucknow is the capital of India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, one of South Asia's most polluted urban cities. Tropospheric photochemistry relies on non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), which are 15 ozone and secondary organic aerosol precursors. Using the proton-transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) at an urban background site in Lucknow, the chemical characterisation of NMVOCs was performed in real-time from Dec-2020-May 2021. The campaign mean concentrations of the NMVOCs were 125.5 ±37.5 ppbv. The average concentrations of NMVOCs are relatively high during winter. An advanced multi-linear engine (ME-2) model was used to perform the NMVOCs source apportionment using positive matrix 20 factorisation (PMF). It resolves the five main sources contributing to these organic compounds in the atmosphere. They include traffic, two solid fuel combustion factors, secondary volatile organic compounds and volatile chemical products. Biomass burning contributes most to the NMVOCs and SOA formation, while interestingly, traffic sources most influence ozone formation. Significant differences in the composition of the two solid fuel combustion indicate the influence of local emissions and transport of regional pollution to the city. The high 25 temperature during summer leads to more volatilisation of oxygenated VOCs.
... Wind stability also accounts for the high concentrations of pollutants in the air at the sampling sites. The origins of PM10 and PM2.5 along the roadsides are caused by vehicular activities on the road 23 . The highest PM2.5 concentration was 48.38µg/m 3 at site 2 during September. ...
Article
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A continuous study of ambient air quality is necessary for determining a regional environmental condition, mainly air pollutants. Pollutant concentrations, sources and weather conditions all have an impact on the quality of the air we breathe. The current study attempted to investigate the air quality in Gwalior city by using two separate locations. In urban areas, the contribution from automobile sources has the most significant impact on air quality. High levels of air pollution have a variety of harmful health consequences. The air quality inside/outside of the university campus is evaluated in this study. Air pollution has serious health consequences for humans, animals and plants. It is difficult to predict the health effects of low-level exposure. The World Health Organization has specified the various criteria gases that affect human health and crops. Different pollutants, mainly Particulate Matters, i.e. PM10, PM2.5, SOx, NOx and SPM, are investigated and their concentration is also estimated for comparative study.
... There are two main reasons for the increase of atmospheric particles in cities: one is that the development of cities has changed the temperature, wind direction and humidity of the city; the other is that human activities such as traffic and industrial production increase the emission of exhaust gas and dust [6][7][8][9]. Previous studies showed that traffic pollution is one of the main sources of urban environment pollution, contributing 40-80% of the total air pollution; this is mainly because moving vehicles not only cause ground dust to become secondary dust in the air but also release new atmospheric particulate matter in the form of exhaust gas emissions and mechanical wear [10][11][12][13]. In addition, high-rise buildings form narrow streets, which reduce the circulation of wind and hinder the diffusion of particulate matter [14,15]. ...
Article
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The concentration of heavy metals in plants’ leaves can effectively indicate the spatiotemporal differences of environmental pollution, providing a scientific basis for the monitoring of urban air quality. The concentration of Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn in the leaves of five different species (Ophiopogon japonicus, Ligustrum vicaryi, Platanus acerifolia, Sophora japonicaand Cedrusdeodara) were measured, which were from I, II, III, IV (0.05 m, 0.25 m, 1 m, 4 m) at different times (May and November) in the green belt of Baoji city. The degree of heavy metal pollution and potential ec ological risk were analyzed. The results revealed that the concentration of Zn, Cu and Pb in roadside plant leaves was relatively high. In May, the heavy metal concentration was the highest in the leaves of C.deodara, whereas this was the case for S. japonica in November. Arbors were more effective at capturing particles from the atmosphere than low plants. At the same height, areas with high levels of heavy metal pollution in May were basically the same as that in November, and areas with high levels of pollution were affected by traffic and industry. The pollution index and the comprehensive index of potential ecological risk of element Cd were the highest, indicating that the potential harm of Cd to the environment should receive more attention from the Government.
... In developing nation, 40-80% of total air pollution is only attributed to vehicular emission (Ghose et al., 2005). The urban population is mainly exposed to high level of air pollution including metals, and fine and ultrafine particles (Nolte et al., 2002) from the vehicular emission (Sharma et al., 2006). The exposure to air pollution can have longterm health effects, even though for short periods. ...
Research
Polluted air causes numerous fatal diseases to living things. The present paper discusses the ambient air quality around the Sorang Hydropower Project (100 MW) in district Kinnaur. The analysed air quality parameters are Sulphur Dioxide (SO 2), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) where their concentration levels are well below the permissible limits for residential, rural and other areas. Higher SPM was observed in the study area which may be due to construction of roads, movement of automobiles and various other hydro activities in the region. This needs a policy implication while the projects remain under construction.
... In the developing countries, air quality crisis in cities is attributed to vehicular emission which contributes to 40-80% of total air pollution (Ghose et al, 2005). The urban population is mainly exposed to high levels of air pollution including metals as well as fine and ultrafine particles (Nolte et al 2002) from the vehicular emission (Sharma et al ,2006). Every city has its own characteristics which becomes the pull factor for its growth and development and this developmental progress, if not checked poses risks to environment and health of the people. ...
Article
Full-text available
Urban air quality is a matter of concern because of exposure of large number of people to it. This paper assesses the ambient air quality status in Firozabad city. One site under residential area, one industrial and one commercial area were selected purposively to spotlight an overview of the total air quality of this region. Firozabad is an industrial city with its supremacy in bangles and glass wares manufacturing. The air quality was assessed based on measuring four air pollutants namely suspended particulate matter (SPM), Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2). The analysis of air quality in Firozabad city for seven successive years shows increasing trends of air pollution. The average concentration of SPM and RSPM at all the locations in each year has exceeded the prescribed limit by NAAQS. Apart from this SO2 and NO2 levels remain under prescribed limit with minor fluctuations. The study reveals that the industrial site CDGI has been heavily polluted in all aspects.
... Author commented that the considerable abatement at root levels in the sources of these metals may reduce the concentration of PM 10 and thus the air quality as well as the health of the city dwellers will certainly improve. 15 In a study at ten locations during May, 2006 in urban area of Lucknow city and one nearby village (control), the values of PM 10 2 and NO x in this study ranged from 11.7-32.4 and 14.7-46.0 ...
Experiment Findings
Urban air pollution is one of the major environmental problems faced by the developing countries. Studies in large Indian cities revealed that ambient air pollution concentrations are at such levels where it can cause serious health impacts. Lucknow, a fast growing city is not an exception to this. Researchers from the city have studied various aspects of air pollution during the last one and half decades, identified particulate matter as the main air pollutant in city. A few studies of indoor environment in households due to various type of fuels used in cooking from urban and nearby rural areas have also identified particulates and associated PAHs as major indoor air pollutant. The objective of this review article is to analyze the air pollution status of city, associated environmental and health impacts and possible control measures presented in studies on Lucknow from the available literature. Particulate fractions viz.; PM 2.5 , PM 10 and SPM were reported to be exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limits in most of the studies but oxides of sulphur and nitrogen (SO 2 and NO x) were within the limit of 80 μg/m 3. Lack of dispersion of pollutants in winter season was reported to be the main reason for highest air pollution during this season and minimum in monsoon due to washout by rains. Commercial areas with high traffic volume recorded higher air pollution levels than residential and industrial areas with low traffic density. Vehicular traffic was identified the major source of air pollution in the city. Air pollution level at control site (village or low traffic density area) was lower than other urban sites. Particulates and associated toxic chemicals (metals and PAHs) and gaseous pollutants have found to be toxic to human and plants in Lucknow. The exposure of these pollutants is associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, neurological impairments, increased risk of preterm birth and even mortality and morbidity. A few studies focusing roadside air pollution have shown high air pollution concentration as well as adverse impact on chlorophyll content of roadside plants. Authorities have been sensitized from the findings of these studies and initiated measures to control vehicular pollution, create awareness and better control of traffic by traffic police. However the efforts made so far are inadequate to maintain good air quality. In view of the rapid growth of Lucknow city in term of area, population and number of registered vehicles, planning and implementation of suitable air pollution control measures are necessary to protect the health of its citizens.
... In developing nation, 40-80% of total air pollution is only attributed to vehicular emission (Ghose et al., 2005). The urban population is mainly exposed to high level of air pollution including metals, and fine and ultrafine particles (Nolte et al., 2002) from the vehicular emission (Sharma et al., 2006). The exposure to air pollution can have longterm health effects, even though for short periods. ...
Article
Full-text available
Polluted air causes numerous fatal diseases to living things. The present paper discusses the ambient air quality around the Sorang Hydropower Project (100 MW) in district Kinnaur. The analysed air quality parameters are Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) where their concentration levels are well below the permissible limits for residential, rural and other areas. Higher SPM was observed in the study area which may be due to construction of roads, movement of automobiles and various other hydro activities in the region. This needs a policy implication while the projects remain under construction.
... As per World Health Organization (WHO), India is the ninth most polluted country of the world. The higher level of pollutants in the air like suspended particulate matter (SPM), respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), sulphur oxides (SO x ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and other pollutants like trace metals have adverse effects on human beings and environment and in majority is due to vehicular emissions (Caselles et al. 2002;Maitre et al. 2006;Kaushik et al. 2006;Sharma et al. 2006;Jayaraman 2007, Curtis et al. 2006. The composition of the air is drastically changing primarily due to particulate matter (Zanini et al. 2006). ...
Book
Himalaya, one of the global biodiversity hotspots, is the abode of a variety of flora and fauna. The Himalayan ecosystems have immense ecological, socioeconomic, and aesthetic significance as they provide a wide range of ecosystem services. The northwest Himalaya (NWH), covering three states of India viz., Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, starts from the foothills of Shivaliks in the south and extends to the greater Himalaya in the north. This region is also the source of some of the major rivers of India. With the increase in population, the NWH ecosystems have been under threat due to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, expansion of agriculture and settlement, overexploitation of natural resources, habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, mining, construction of roads and large dams, and unplanned tourism. The Himalaya being young and geotectonically active, remains inherently unstable, fragile, and prone to natural disasters. Climate change is also likely to impact the Himalayan cryosphere drastically. Recognizing the importance of the Himalaya, a National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of Govt. of India, to conserve biodiversity, forest cover and other ecological values in the Himalayan region has been taken up. Spaceborne remote sensing with its ability to provide synoptic and repetitive coverage has emerged as a powerful tool for assessment and monitoring of the Himalayan resources and phenomena. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun has taken up a number of studies in the fields of geology, water resources, forestry, agriculture, urban settlement, etc., over the last decade. The book summarises the work carried out in different disciplines, illustrated with tables and figures and a host of relevant references. It is hoped that the book serves as an excellent reference of immense value to the students, researchers, professors, scientists, professionals, and decision makers working in the NWH region.
... The filtrate was examined for the concentration of trace metal by AAS (Varian Spectra AA-250 Plus). The AAS was calibrated for each metal using known CRM (Qualigens make) before analysis (Sharma et al. 2006). ...
Article
Full-text available
The present study evaluates the performance of a newly developed improved metal chulha (IMC) over available traditional mud chulha (TMC) as an energy-efficient nonsmoking cooking appliance for the rural households. An extensive survey of 90 respondents revealed that majority of the households use firewood for cooking in energy-inefficient TMCs. The TMC emitted considerable amount of toxic component, which can adversely affect the human health on direct exposure. To overcome this problem, we have developed an IMC, which significantly reduces energy loss and cooking time compared to TMC. In this study, we have measured the level of airborne pollutants emitted from fuelwood used for cooking purpose. In addition to this, we have also studied the thermal efficiency of IMC over TMC. A major reduction in indoor pollutants viz. PM10 (45%), PM2.5 (73%), CO (51%), SOX (22%), NOX (36%) was recorded for IMC over the TMC. The water boiling test also indicates higher thermal efficiency during all the three phases: cold start (37%), hot start (41%) and simmering test (46%) for IMC over TMC. The fuel consumption rate (g min⁻¹) was recorded 23, 16.6, 14 and 32.2, 25.1 and 20.6 for IMC and TMC, respectively. Compared with TMC, the IMC reduced specific fuelwood consumption, increased efficiencies and lower emissions of pollutants including PM10, PM2.5, NOX, SOX and CO. A social survey in the form of a questionnaire revealed that majority of households realized that IMC will be better than the TMC in terms of handling, reduced emissions, easier cooking and efficiency.
... In developing countries, air pollution in cities is attributed to vehicular emission which contributes to 40-80% of total air pollution [1]. The urban population is mainly exposed to high levels of air pollution that includes toxic metals as well as fine and ultrafine particles from the vehicular traffic [2]. Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and suspended particulate matter are regarded as major air pollutants in India [3]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this paper, we study the multifractal characteristics and cross-correlation behaviour of Air Pollution Index (API) time series data through multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis method. We analyse the daily API records of nine air pollutants of the university of Hyderabad campus for a period of three years (2013–2016). The cross-correlation behaviour has been measured from the Hurst scaling exponents and the singularity spectrum quantitatively. From the results, it is found that the cross-correlation analysis shows anti-correlation behaviour for all possible 36 bivariate time series. We also observe the existence of multifractal nature in all the bivariate time series in which many of them show strong multifractal behaviour. In particular, the hazardous particulate matter PM2.5 and inhalable particulate matter PM10 shows anti-correlated behaviour with all air pollutants.
... The present study reveals that the level of PM 10 was within the prescribed permissible limits of CPCB standards (100 µg/m 3 ) at all the selected study sites (except at A1 and A7: nearby stations with marginal values) in and around Dahej Port. Trace metals concentration in PM 10 at different locations of Lucknow city was studied bySharma et al. (2006). influenced localities with heavy loads of PM 10 suggested the preventive measures for safe health and secure hygiene of locales in and around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. ...
Article
Full-text available
p>Clean air is the basic requirement of all living organisms. In recent times, due to population growth, urban sprawl, industrial development, and vehicular boom, the quality of air is deteriorating and being polluted. Pollutants of major public health concerns include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, which pose serious threats to human health and hygiene. In the present study, prime particulate pollutants (PM10, PM2.5), and gaseous pollutants (SO2, and NO2) were estimated at seven stations in and around Dahej Port, Gujarat, India. The obtained values of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 in all the studied stations (seven) ranged from 67.39 to 98.75, 29.57 to 45.79, 17.76 to 22.29 and 28.29 to 32.42 mg/m3, respectively. The level of PM10 at all sampling locations, and that of PM2.5 at Station A3 (Lakhigam) were found little higher than prescribed permissible limits of CPCB standards, while SO2 and NO2levels were within the acceptable range. The Air Quality Index (AQI) score was found to be ranged from 76.50 to 97.75, which is at satisfactory level as per CPCB standards. Further, precautionary measures and management strategies to minimize the effect of particulate as well as gaseous pollutants have also been suggested for achieving its ambient levels in and around Dahej Port, Gujarat, India. International Journal of Environment Volume-6, Issue-4, Sep-Nov 2017, page: 28-41</p
... The present study reveals that the level of PM 10 was within the prescribed permissible limits of CPCB standards (100 µg/m 3 ) at all the selected study sites (except at A1 and A7: nearby stations with marginal values) in and around Dahej Port. Trace metals concentration in PM 10 at different locations of Lucknow city was studied bySharma et al. (2006). influenced localities with heavy loads of PM 10 suggested the preventive measures for safe health and secure hygiene of locales in and around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. ...
... Lucknow is the capital of densely populated state of India i.e. Uttar Pradesh, where vehicular exhaust is considered as major source of airborne pollution (Sharma et al., 2006;Kisku et al., 2003). In previous years vehicle density has increased from 1709662 to 1864556, which has added enormous load of particulate matter in ambient air (RTO Lucknow, 2016). ...
Article
Airborne particulate matters were collected during the period of October 2015 to September 2016 in Lucknow at different sampling sites. The annual mean concentration of particulate matter was found to be relatively higher than the limits prescribed by National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO). Particulate matters were studied for morphological analysis, elemental composition and functional group variability with the help of Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) followed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Morphological characteristics viz. particle count, aspect ratio, circulatory, roundness, equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) and surface area revealed that the particles were perfectly spherical to irregular in shape. Based on the morphology and elemental composition, four clusters of a particulates namely organic particle with inorganic inclusion, soot, tar balls and aluminosilicates were found. FTIR spectra revealed the presence of sulfate, bisulfate, particulate water, silicate, ammonium, aliphatic carbon, aliphatic alcohol, carbonyl and organic nitrates.
... The urban population is mainly exposed to high levels of air pollution including metals as well as fine and ultra fine particles from the vehicular emission (Sharma et. al. 2006). Every city has its own characteristics which becomes the pull factor for its growth and development and developmental progress, if not checked poses risks to environment and health of people (Ahmad et.al. 2015). ...
... These pollutants enter into the atmosphere in the form of gases or particles. Increase in vehicular pollution is one of the most important factors responsible for deterioration of air quality in most Indian cities (Morawska et al., 2002; Gokhale and Patil, 2004; Sharma et al., 2006; IIR 2006). Suspended particulate matter (SPM) consists of smoke, dust, fumes and droplets of viscous liquid. ...
Article
Full-text available
The present study was carried out to evaluate the RSPM, NRSPM and TSPM concentrations in the ambient air of Shillong City, Meghalaya. Sampling was done in April, 2010. The concentration of RSPM, NRSPM and TSPM at Station 1 (Dhankheti Junction) varies from 81.24 µg/m 3 to 261.43 µg/m 3 ; 73.17 µg/m 3 to 265.54 µg/m 3 and 212.49 µg/m 3 to 467.94 µg/m 3 , respectively. The overall RSPM and TSPM concentrations were found to exceed the permissible limit during the study period. Based on the results obtained, the concentrations of particulate matter in the ambient air at Stations 1 was attributed mainly by motor vehicle emission produced from various types of automobiles (both diesel and petrol driven) plying in the area. However, their concentrations at Station 2 (NEHU campus) were found comparatively lower and are within the limit.
... Air is rendered impure by a) respiration of man and animals b) decomposition of organic matter, c) combustion of coal, gas, oil etc. d) trade, traffic and manufacturing processes that give off dust, fumes vapors and gases.Urban air pollution due to vehicular emission is a matter of concern because of exposure of large number of people to it. Vehicular emission is responsible for higher level of air pollutants like SPM, RSPM, SO 2 , NO x and other organic and inorganic pollutants including trace metals and their adverse effects on human and environmental health (Caselles et al., 2002; Kaushik et al., 2006; Maitre et al., 2006 ; Curtis et al., 2006; Sharma et al., 2006; Jayaraman, 2007, Barman et al., 2010). Vehicular exhaust is one of the most important sources of fine particles (Nolte et al., 2002; Fang et al., 2005; Barman et al., 2008, Barman et al., 2010). ...
Article
Full-text available
Urban activities create more pollution in comparison to rural activities. This paper assesses the ambient air quality status in urban residential area of Jhansi city and rural residential area of adjoining village of Jhansi city. Two sites under urban residential area and two cites under rural residential area were selected purposively to spotlight an overview of the total air quality of this region. The air quality was assessed based on measuring four air pollutants namely Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), Oxides of Nitrogen (NO x) and Sulphur di oxide (SO 2). In both the areas viz. urban residential and rural residential, the average concentrations of SPM and RSPM exceeded the prescribed limits of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) New Delhi. In the urban residential areas the average concentrations of SPM and RSPM were higher than the rural residential areas. Apart from this the SO 2 and NO x levels in urban residential areas and rural residential areas remain under prescribed limits of CPCB, New Delhi. The average AQI value of urban residential areas was found higher than the rural residential areas. The urban residential area viz. Shivaji nagar and Veerangana nagar were heavily polluted whereas the rural residential area viz. Kochha Bhavar and Lakara were moderately polluted.
... The higher levels of PM10 at site I may be attributed to high vehicular density, presence of road side markets and unplanned road side parking leading to conjunction of traffic and blowing of dust particles on road sides by moving vehicles (Cohen, 1998). Vehicular emission is the dominating source of PM10 along the road sides (Kukkonen et al., 2001;Sharma et al., 2006). However, lower concentration of air pollutants at site II is due to its location in the Thajwas Wildlife Sanctuary having restricted vehicular movement, least tourist activity and presence of dense forest cover. ...
... The higher levels of PM10 at site I may be attributed to high vehicular density, presence of road side markets and unplanned road side parking leading to conjunction of traffic and blowing of dust particles on road sides by moving vehicles (Cohen, 1998). Vehicular emission is the dominating source of PM10 along the road sides (Kukkonen et al., 2001;Sharma et al., 2006). However, lower concentration of air pollutants at site II is due to its location in the Thajwas Wildlife Sanctuary having restricted vehicular movement, least tourist activity and presence of dense forest cover. ...
... The effects of particulate matters on human health depends on several factors like size of particulates (smaller the size severe effects), shape, chemical composition (trace metals, organic carbon, black carbon, organic and volatile matters, PAHs etc), duration of exposure, and the condition of the affected persons. The elevated level of PM 10 associated with trace metals namely Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Ca, Pb were found in Lucknow city reported by researchers (Barman et al, 2010;Caselles et al, 2002;Kaushik et al, 2006;Maitre et al, 2006;Curtis et al, 2006;Sharma et al, 2006;Jayaraman et al, 2007). The higher levels of PM 10 and toxic metals (As, Cd, Cu, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) around the sponge iron industries were reported by Barman et al, 2010). ...
Article
Full-text available
The present study dealt with the assessment of ambient air quality in both commercial and residential areas like Aminabad, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) Campus, Aliganj and Indranagar at Lucknow city of Northern India. The air quality was assessed based on measurement of four air pollutants like Suspended Particulate Matter (PM10), Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), and Sulphur Dioxides (SOx) and also eight heavy metals associated with PM10 and PM2.5. The results suggested that the commercial area like Aminabad has the average value 284 &g/m3 for PM10 and residential area like Aliganj has the average value 182.3 &g/m3 for PM2.5, which represented high pollution level among the four locations. In both commercial and residential area, the average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 were obtained aboveNational Ambient AirQuality Standards (NAAQS) and SOx, NOx were obtained under the prescribed limits of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), New Delhi. The calculated values of air quality index revealed that the commercial area was found to have higher AQI (122.95) than residential area (97.8). The average contribution of four (PM10, PM2.5, SOx, NOx) pollutant were obtained 31.7% in Aminabad, 25% in Aliganj, 22% in IITR and 21.3% in Indranagar. The order of metals associated with PM10 and PM2.5 were Fe > Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu > Mn > Co > Ni and Fe > Cr > Zn > Co > Pb > Ni > Mn > Cu respectively. The sources of heavy metals in this area are vehicular emission, industrial operation, combustion of waste, and construction activity of street dust particles etc.
... The concentration of various air quality parameters viz., TSPM, SPM, NOX, SOX recorded during present study are given in Tables 1 and 2. presumably associated with dust re-suspension by road traffic and wind. Vehicular emission is the dominating source of PM10 along the road sides (Kukkonen et al., 2001;Sharma et al., 2006). RSPM Airborne particulate matter represents a complex mixture of organic and inorganic substances. ...
Article
Full-text available
Exposure to high level of air pollution can cause a variety of adverse health outcomes. Health implications of air pollution are strong because exposure to air pollution is ubiquitous and widespread. However there are several key methodical challenges in the estimation of the health effects of low level exposure to air pollution. This paper assesses the air quality within and outside the University campus.
... This only contributes to 40-80% of total air pollution (Ghose et al., 2005). The urban population is greatly exposed to high levels of air pollution having fine and ultrafine particles along with metals which mainly enters from the motor vehicle emissions (Sharma et al., 2006;Rai, 2013;Rai and Panda, 2014). Road traffic is considered to be major sources of environmental pollution in urban areas, whereas other sources of air pollution are anthropogenic activities like power plants, metallurgical operations, mining activities and dust originating from fragile rocks. ...
... In the developing countries, air quality crisis in cities is attributed to vehicular emission which contributes to 40-80% of total air pollution (Ghose et al., 2005). Vehicular traffic is the main source of particulate air pollution in Lucknow city (Sharma et al., 2006). ...
Article
Full-text available
The samples of ambient air collected from six different sites of the city during three different seasons on glass fibre filter papers were estimated for selected metals. The maximum value of Pb (0.191 microg m-3), Cd (0.015 microg m-3), Zn (0.198 microg m-3), Ni (0.582 microg m-3) and Cu (0.396 microg m-3) was observed at Hissar road during winter season. The minimum value of Pb (0.006 microg m-3), Cd (not detected), Zn (0.002 microg m-3), Ni (0.003 microg m-3) and Cu (0.002 microg m-3) was observed at University Campus during monsoon season. These values were however below the permissible limits. Sample of 50 people each was taken up from both low and high polluted sites. The significant difference at P<0.001 was observed in Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni and Cd in blood samples of subjects residing at low and high polluted area.
... However, anthropogenic sources of toxic trace metals in ambient PM could originate from industrial emissions, power plants, combustion by-products such as incineration of metallic objects and vehicular emissions. Studies by Morawska et al. (2002), Kisku et al. (2003) and Sharma et al. (2006) have implicated vehicle-related emissions as the main source of particulate pollution whose overall effect depends on its shape, size, composition, mass and number concentrations and the receptor cells. ...
Article
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Trace metal concentrations were determined in particulate matter (PM10) in ambient air of four purposively selected residential areas in Ibadan, Nigeria namely Bodija market (BM), Ojo Park (OP), Oluyole Estate (OE) and University of Ibadan (UI). PM10 was determined in the morning (7-10 a.m.) and afternoon (2-5 p.m.) for 12 weeks in the dry season months of January-March using a volumetric sampler following standard procedures and levels compared with WHO guideline limits. Glass-fibre filter papers exposed to the particulate matter were digested using appropriate acid mixtures, and the digest analysed for trace metals including Ni, Cr, Mn, Zn, and Pb using ICPMS method and levels compared with WHO limits. Data was analysed using ANOVA and Pearson correlation test at 5 % level of significance. The highest mean PM10 concentrations 502.3 ± 39.9 μg/m(3) were recorded in the afternoon period at BM, while the lowest concentration 220.6 ± 69.9 μg/m(3) was observed in the morning hours at UI. There was a significant difference between the PM10 levels across the various locations (p < 0.05), and all the levels were higher than WHO limit of 50 μg/m(3). The highest levels of Ni, Zn and Pb were recorded at BM, which also had the highest PM10 burden. The trend in Pb levels across the locations was BM > UI > OP > OE with the highest level 5.70 μg/m(3) in BM nearly fourfolds WHO limits of 1.5 μg/m(3). There was a significant correlation between PM10 and Ni (p < 0.05).Urban communities with increased human activities especially motor traffic recorded both higher levels of PM10 and toxic trace metals. There is need to carry out source apportionment to establish the origin of these trace metals in future studies.
Article
Following standard protocols, a comprehensive sampling campaign for particulate matter pollutants at two major industrial cities (Al-Jubail and Ras Tanura) on the East Coast of Saudi Arabia was conducted. Total mass and morphological and mineralogical composition of the fine fractions (PM10) of samples are determined using several complementary systems. These systems include hybrid nephelometric and radiometric technique to monitor particulate mass, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Results show that PM10 mass concentration in Al-Jubail and Ras Tanura is within the KSA national and international standards (24 h mean = 100 ± 20 µg/m3 and 13 days Range = 50–250 µg/m3). Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows that particulate observed in Al-Jubailwe are mostly irregular and clustered, while particulate in Ras Tanura are dispersed, with shapes mixed between irregular and spherical. In general, particulate observed in Ras Tanura have a larger size than those found in Al-Jubail. Trace metals and heavy metals were detected in both cities but within allowable range.
Article
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Dust pollution is one of the very dangerous types of air pollution. In Mumbai, excess of vehicles and continuous construction create a lot of dust pollution adding to major quantity of dust pollutants such as Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Heavy Metals, etc. in the city atmosphere. The excess of atmospheric heavy metals can lead to various health issues. The plants have been found to be very effective in monitoring and controlling dust pollution. The leaves too can capture good amounts of dust. In this research work, the foliar dust from Ficus benjamina L. var. nuda (Miq.) M. F. Barrett. was collected from various locations in the city. The elemental compositions of foliar dust samples were analyzed for their composition. Field Emission Gun-Scanning Electron Microscopes (FEG-SEM) was used to analyze Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) at SAIF department in IIT, Powai. Carbon (C), Oxygen (O), Magnesium (Mg), Aluminium (Al), Silicon (Si), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Manganese (Mn), Ferrous (Fe) and Copper (Cu) were discovered in the dust samples obtained from all the sites. Carbon (C) and Oxygen (O) were majorly seen in the dust samples. Similarly, Sodium (Na), Phosphorus (P), Sulphur (S), Titanium (Ti), Zinc (Zn) and Molybdenum (Mo) were found to be less common and if present, were available in traces.
Article
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Abstract: Good air quality is essential for good health for living beings including humans. The increase in human population, urbanization and economic growth led to an increase in the consumption of resources. Urban development and advancement in developing countries like India normally occur and simply continue in an irregular way. This unexpected and unregulated urban growth contributes to environmental instability and ecological degradation. In urban area rapid increase of vehicular population as well as road traffic is one of the major source of air pollutants and cause of health hazards. Lucknow, a fast growing city is not an exception to this. In consideration of this, an effort has been made to create a GIS model to help easily collect details on air quality directly from remotely sensed data. The paper highlights the capabilities of Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS satellite imagery to evaluate air quality using RS and GIS approaches. Study shows that model derived from using various Landsat 8 satellite image bands can be accurately estimated for particulate matter (PM2.5), while it can not be applied to gaseous pollutants. (NOx, CO, etc). Keywords: Landsat OLI and TIRS, Lucknow air Quality, Remote Sensing
Chapter
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An urban area is a complex ensemble of interrelated and entangled socio-economic, spatial and environmental processes. The irreversible demographic changes being witnessed in an urban set-up pose threat to the rapidly depleting resources. Therefore, the study of urban footprints and the services with associated infrastructure is a subject that intrigues urban planners. Although planning has more to say about cities, it is equally imperative to explore all perspectives of a holistic regional development keeping in view the social, economic, cultural, environmental and governance issues. Interestingly, with the advent of smart city concept, the conceptualization of six key enablers of the mission, viz. smart governance, smart living, smart people, smart mobility, smart environment and smart economy, finds its complete implementation scope in spatial planning aided with information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. Various pillars of smart planning of an urban set-up ranging from infrastructure to resource management and smart energy to smart environment are achievable with the help of geospatial technologies.
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Air pollution originating from rapid industrialization, urbanization, population growth and economic development has disturbed the urban ecosystems of ecologically sensitive regions like the Indo-Burma hot spot, and they are under severe air pollution stress with limited resources to collect data on what is happening. Air pollutants comprised of both particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants may cause adverse health effects in human, affect plant life and impact the global environment by changing the atmosphere of the earth. It is now well established that urban PM may also contain magnetic particles along with other air pollutants. Biomonitoring of PM through magnetic properties, known as biomagnetic monitoring, measures the magnetic parameters of dust loaded plant leaves, giving a new opportunity to monitor. Compared to existing conventional technologies, biomagnetic monitoring is an eco-friendly technique perfect in urban areas. Biomagnetic Monitoring of Particulate Matter reviews the issues with PM and the potential of these methods to on tropical vegetation on a variety of flora which represent the biodiversity of the Indo-Burma Hot Spot. Bio-magnetic Monitoring of Particulate Matter gives a comprehensive overview of the issue of particulate pollution and monitoring. Cases of magnetic biomonitoring across different environments are included to demonstrate this emerging technique as a way to measure particulate pollution. Coverage includes a comparison to other techniques as well as why it works well ecological diverse developing areas which are data scarce, like the Indo-Burma Hot Spot. A review of the detrimental health impacts of Particulate Matter reinforces the importance for this type of data to be available universally.
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New smart cities, i.e. technology enabled cities is an ambitious project currently in India. However, the focus should be on rejuvenating the existing dying cities from the plethora of problems they are facing and make them sustainable. In lieu of this, the paper attempts to uncover the environmental disaster of air pollution engulfing the royal Nawabi city of Lucknow which is experiencing a new stage of urbanization and is expanding to its fullest by engulfing the rural fringes. Hasty urbanization poses grave challenge to the environment, which is emerging as an important apprehension and has become a major subject of concern. In this spurious process of expansion, it is attracting negativity which in turn is hampering its own quality. Due to excessive discharge of pollutants like oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter, and lead emitted from vehicles, the quality of air is deteriorating. The increased traffic has resulted in increased emission of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter which has enough potential for deterioration of environmental sustainability of any ecosystem and human health too (Nagendra et al. 2004). The quality of air that we are breathing is rapidly changing. Managing the urban environment is becoming an overwhelming dilemma as the city is experiencing critical environmental degradation and is having solemn setback in sustaining human life. Though attempts are being made to curb this problem, huge efforts are still awaited. This paper provides a close view concerning the blow of environment pollution in the perspective of air pollution and problems faced by the citizens.
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In this chapter, the magnetic properties—magnetic susceptibility (χ), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM)—of two roadside plant leaves (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Mangifera indica) at four spatially distant sites were measured in order to compare their capability to accumulate particulate matter (PM). Further, the aim of this chapter was to assess PM pollution at selected sites and to establish the relationship between magnetic properties and PM in the city of an Indo-Burma hot spot region. The results indicated significant correlation between the concentration of ambient PM and magnetic measurement (χ, ARM and SIRM) of both the roadside plant leaves. Similarly, significant correlations between magnetic parameters (χ, ARM and SIRM) and Fe concentrations have been demonstrated. This chapter may be a novel contribution in the field of biomagnetic monitoring as the previous related studies focused mostly on temperate plants, concentrating on a single magnetic parameter, rather than the three that we selected. Our study concluded that biomagnetic monitoring as an application of environmental geomagnetism may act as proxy for ambient PM pollution and therefore as an ecosustainable tool for environmental management in urban and peri-urban regions.
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This chapter deals with biomonitoring of air pollution in Aizawl city (Mizoram, an Indo-Burma hot spot) by detecting the magnetic properties of leaves of selected roadside plants. Among the different plants investigated, Mangifera indica (0.91 mg cm−2) showed the highest dust deposition capacity followed by Psidium guajava (0.84 mg cm−2), Artocarpus heterophyllus (0.82 mg cm−2), Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (0.79 mg cm−2), and Bougainvillea spectabilis (0.69 mg cm−2). Mangifera indica leaves also displayed the highest two-dimensional (2D)-magnetization value (74.14 × 10−6 A) as well as percentage of magnetization removed through cleaning (86.12%). Magnetic values were found to be higher for all plant leaves collected from the peri-urban (Ramrikawn) area compared to the rural (Tanhril) area.
Article
The present study deals with the assessment of ambient air quality with respect to particulate matter and trace metals (Zn, Cr, Ni and Pb) concentrations in PM10 at 4 locations of Kanpur city, an industrial city of Uttar Pradesh. The 24 hr mean concentrations of PM10 ranged between 172-187 μg/m3, which was higher than the permissible limit (100 μg/m3) of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Panki, an industrial area influenced by industrial population, is found to be the most polluted area of Kanpur city and Kakadev residential area the least. The ambient air of Swaroop Nagar was rich in Cr and Zn, indicating contribution of mobile sources. The Ni concentration was found to be alarmingly high in the air at all the locations except Panki, when compared with the European Commission limit (20 μg/m3). The Pb concentration was found maximum at Kakadev as compared with the permissible limit (01 μg/m 3). Suggesting the significance of sources contributing to presence of these metals. The present study focused on the quantitative variation in different metals in the PM10, which is extremely harmful due to their toxic and carcinogenic nature.
Article
Lichen (Pyxine cocoes) plants were transplanted at four sites of Lucknow city of high vehicular activities. One set of lichen was also transplanted in the area with negligible vehicular activities. Lichen accumulated elevated level of trace metals observed after transplantation at all polluted sites in their tissues. Maximum tissue concentration of Fe (554μg g-1dry weight) was observed at 15 days after transplantation. The tissue accumulation of trace metals was found in the order Fe > Zn> Pb > Cu > Cr in lichen transplanted at different areas with high vehicles load in Lucknow. Least tissue concentration of trace metals was found in lichens transplanted in relatively uncontaminated area. Study indicated elevated trace metal contents in ambient air possibly due to the high vehicular pollution in the Lucknow city, needs careful measures to control high vehicular activities.
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In this paper, we present mass concentrations of particulate matter [PM2.5, PM10 size fractions and total suspended particulates (TSP)] measured simultaneously over land stations (Kullu, Patiala, Delhi, Ajmer, Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi, Giridih, Kolkata, Darjeeling, Jorhat, Itanagar, Imphal, Bhubaneswar, and Kadapa), mostly distributed across the Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) of India as well as in the marine atmosphere over Bay of Bengal (BoB) in the period from 20 January to 3 February, 2014. The main objective of this study was to quantify the continental outflow of particulates (PM2.5, PM10 and TSP) from IGP and associated regions into the BoB along with low level north-east wind flow during winter monsoon period. The present study provides a glimpse of the aerosol loading over the IGP region. During this campaign, the highest average PM2.5 (187.8 ± 36.5 µg m−3, range 125.6–256.2 µg m−3), PM10 (272.6 ± 102.9 µg m−3, range 147.6–520.1 µg m−3) and TSP (325.0 ± 71.5 µg m−3, range 220.4–536.6 µg m−3) mass concentrations were recorded at Varanasi, Kolkata and Lucknow over middle and lower IGP regions. The PM2.5 (average 41.3 ± 11.9 µg m−3; range 15.0–54.4 µg m−3), PM10 (average 53.9 ± 18.9 µg m−3; range 30.1–82.1 µg m−3) and TSP (average 78.8 ± 29.7 µg m−3; range 49.1–184.5 µg m−3) loading over BoB were found to be comparable to land stations and suggests possible continental outflow. Over the continental region, the highest PM2.5/PM10 ratio was recorded at Delhi (0.87). The PM2.5/PM10 ratio over BoB (0.77) was found to be quite high and comparable to Varanasi (0.80) and Agra (0.79).
Article
Investigations were carried out during the summer season (March-June 2012) to observe the quality of indoor air by monitoring the levels of some selected air pollutants at 15 different houses covering the urban areas of Lucknow City. Concentrations of CO2, CO, PM10, PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 were monitored indoors and outdoors simultaneously and I/O ratios were calculated. Regression analysis for I/O relationship was performed to assess the contribution of outdoor sources to indoor air quality. Air Quality Index (AQI) for indoor air was also calculated to have an idea about the quality of indoor air and their health effects. In collaboration with the medical college doctors of the city, we surveyed 197 persons to find out different diseases/symptoms being faced due to indoor air pollution. Results of the study revealed that the average levels of PM10 and PM2.5 were above the permissible limits laid by WHO at densely populated and roadside sites with 189μg/m(3) (PM2.5 76μg/m(3)) and 226μg/m(3) (PM2.5 91μg/m(3)) respectively. Correlation analysis showed positive results. At sites like Alambagh and Chowk, the indoor AQI range was alarming with the values of 302 and 209. Survey results also showed that 46% of urban people suffered from acute respiratory infections like bronchial asthma, headache, depression and dizziness and these people were mostly from Roadside colonies.
Article
Urban populations are exposed to a high level of fine and ultrafine particles from motor vehicle emissions which affect human health. To assess the hourly variation of fine particle (PM2.5) concentration and the influence of temperature and relative humidity (RH) on the ambient air of Lucknow city, monitoring of PM2.5 along with temperature and RH was carried out at two residential locations, namely Vikas Nagar and Alambagh, during November 2005. The 24 h mean PM2.5 concentration at Alambagh was 131.74 μg/m3 and showed an increase of 13.74%, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the Vikas Nagar level. The 24 h mean PM2.5 on weekdays for both locations was found to be 142.74 μg/m3 (an increase of 66.23%) which was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than the weekend value, indicating that vehicular pollution is one of the important sources of PM2.5. The mean PM2.5 at night for all the monitoring days was 157.69 μg/m3 and was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than the daytime concentration (89.87 μg/m3). Correlation and multiple regressions showed that the independent variables, i. e., time, temperature, and RH together accounted for 54%, whereas RH alone accounted for 53% of total variations of PM2.5, suggesting that RH is the best influencing variable to predict the PM2.5 concentration in the urban area of Lucknow city. The 24 h mean PM2.5 for all the monitoring days was found to be higher than the NAAQS recommended by the US-EPA (65 μg/m3) and can be considered to be an alarming indicator of adverse health effects for city dwellers.
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Recent studies have reported associations between particulate air pollution and daily mortality rates. Population-based, cross-sectional studies of metropolitan areas in the United States have also found associations between particulate air pollution and annual mortality rates, but these studies have been criticized, in part because they did not directly control for cigarette smoking and other health risks. In this prospective cohort study, we estimated the effects of air pollution on mortality, while controlling for individual risk factors. Survival analysis, including Cox proportional-hazards regression modeling, was conducted with data from a 14-to-16-year mortality follow-up of 8111 adults in six U.S. cities. Mortality rates were most strongly associated with cigarette smoking. After adjusting for smoking and other risk factors, we observed statistically significant and robust associations between air pollution and mortality. The adjusted mortality-rate ratio for the most polluted of the cities as compared with the least polluted was 1.26 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.08 to 1.47). Air pollution was positively associated with death from lung cancer and cardiopulmonary disease but not with death from other causes considered together. Mortality was most strongly associated with air pollution with fine particulates, including sulfates. Although the effects of other, unmeasured risk factors cannot be excluded with certainty, these results suggest that fine-particulate air pollution, or a more complex pollution mixture associated with fine particulate matter, contributes to excess mortality in certain U.S. cities.
Article
Vertical differences in PM 10 and PM 2.5 suspended particles were investigated using a building in Osaka, Japan. Samples were collected on the roof of the building (200 m above ground level) and on the ground during 5-9 August and 2-6 December 2002. In addition to determination of sample mass, concentrations have been analyzed for major chemical components including elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). Particle mass concentrations of the samples collected at 200 m were lower than those collected on the ground. "Others" species, defined as the difference between the total particle mass and the sum of the masses of the measured species, dominantly accounted for the vertical difference in mass concentrations in summer, whereas EC and OC were the major contributors in winter. Vertical profiles of relative humidity observed simultaneously indicated that relative humidity on the ground was higher than that at 200 m during the summer sampling period. Hence, it is likely that the higher concentrations of "others" species in the samples collected on the ground were probably caused by water having been absorbed by deliquescent components of the particles. Vertical temperature profiles during the winter sampling period suggested that stable meteorological conditions in winter resulted in the accumulation of primary particles, mainly emitted from vehicle exhaust, leading to the high concentrations of EC and OC on the ground.
Article
A range of microscopy and analytical techniques have been used to investigate the physicochemical properties of diluted DEP that may be important in determining its biological activity. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated four basic categories of particle morphology: (1) “spherulites” [individual particles]; (2) “chains” or “clusters” of spherulites; (3) “spherules”, [large bodies of spherulites]; (4) “flake-like bodies”. Image analysis of TEM photomicrographs determined empirical morphological parameters (30nm mean spherulite diameter, aspect ratio 1.5, mean particle area 0.078μm, equivalent spherical diameter 0.23μm, roundness 2.76) and derived parameters (0.313μm2 surface area, 3.7μm2pg surface area per mass and 0.042μm3 volume) of DEP. Distributions of the particle sizes by number showed 10.1% were ultrafine (2.5μm), but distributions based on a mass value were different (0.01% ultrafine; 52.6% fine, 47.4% coarse). In contrast, impacted DEP contained 60.87% ultrafine, 39.13% fine and 0% coarse particles by number. Field emission scanning electron microscopy of spherulites revealed smooth surfaces and flocculated spherules with large surface areas. Electron probe X-ray micro-analysis demonstrated the presence of C, O, Na, Mg, K, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ca along with a range of metals (Ti, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cr), that were heterogeneous in distribution. Inductively coupled plasma mass and atomic emission spectrometry identified Mg, P, Ca, Cr, Mn, Zn, Sr, Mo, Ba, Na, Fe, S, and Si as the mobile sorbed metals readily removed during sonication in water from DEP suspensions. X-ray Diffraction confirmed previous observations of the presence of nanometer sized crystallites of disordered graphite. Comparison of microscopy and analytical results between sonicated and impacted DEP revealed a physicochemical difference that must be taken into account in any toxicological investigations.
Article
Metallic element transfer through the atmosphere is a significant part of the biogeochemical cycle of these elements. Natural and anthropogenic were two processes which can increase heavy metal concentrations in the atmosphere. Atmospheric particulates, especially secondary anthropogenic fine particles (PM2.5), have been influence human health. Generally speaking, the total daily mortality increases by approximately 1% for every 10μgm−3 increase in PM10 concentration (Lippmann, 1998). This is why the PM10 and PM2.5 measurements are included in the US ambient air quality standards (US-EPA, 1987 for PM10; 1996 for PM2.5) (Querol et al., 2001).In recent years, since the great efforts made by Taiwan government towards the reduction of O3 and PM10 concentrations by controlling the emission rates of local pollutants sources, the frequency of exceeded PSI has gradually decrease the value of 4.9% in 1999 (Taiwan EPA, 2000).Urban populations are exposed to metals in suspended particles and these are often well above natural background levels owing to anthropogenic processes (Espinosa et al., 2002). This results in elevated metal concentrations that can pose an important risk to human health.Understanding emissions from traffic includes identification of the sources, which is also crucial for designing control measures. Road traffic involves numerous potential sources of metals, combustion products from fuel and oil, wear products from tires, brake linings, bearings, coach and road construction materials, and re-suspension of soil and road dust.The different sample collection devices, pretreatment and analysis methods were discussed in this study. The purpose of this study arranges the atmospheric metallic elements investigations in Asia regions. The data obtained here can also help to understand the sources, concentration, phase distribution and health impact of atmospheric metallic elements in Asian countries.
Article
Investigations on the monitoring of ambient air levels of atmospheric particulates were developed around a large source of primary anthropogenic particulate emissions: the industrial ceramic area in the province of Castelló (Eastern Spain). Although these primary particulate emissions have a coarse grain-size distribution, the atmospheric transport dominated by the breeze circulation accounts for a grain-size segregation, which results in ambient air particles occurring mainly in the 2.5–10 μm range. The chemical composition of the ceramic particulate emissions is very similar to the crustal end-member but the use of high Al, Ti and Fe as tracer elements as well as a peculiar grain-size distribution in the insoluble major phases allow us to identify the ceramic input in the bulk particulate matter. PM2.5 instead of PM10 monitoring may avoid the interference of crustal particles without a major reduction in the secondary anthropogenic load, with the exception of nitrate. However, a methodology based in PM2.5 measurement alone is not adequate for monitoring the impact of primary particulate emissions (such as ceramic emissions) on air quality, since the major ambient air particles derived from these emissions are mainly in the range of 2.5–10 μm. Consequently, in areas characterised by major secondary particulate emissions, PM2.5 monitoring should detect anthropogenic particulate pollutants without crustal particulate interference, whereas PM10 measurements should be used in areas with major primary anthropogenic particulate emissions.
Article
Airborne particle number concentrations and size distributions as well as CO and NOx concentrations monitored at a site within the central business district of Brisbane, Australia were correlated with the traffic flow rate on a nearby freeway with the aim of investigating differences between weekday and weekend pollutant characteristics. Observations over a 5-year monitoring period showed that the mean number particle concentration on weekdays was (8.8±0.1)×103 cm−3 and on weekends (5.9±0.2)×103 cm−3—a difference of 47%. The corresponding mean particle number median diameters during weekdays and weekends were 44.2±0.3 and 50.2±0.2 nm, respectively. The differences in mean particle number concentration and size between weekdays and weekends were found to be statistically significant at confidence levels of over 99%. During a 1-year period of observation, the mean traffic flow rate on the freeway was 14.2×104 and 9.6×104 vehicles per weekday and weekend day, respectively—a difference of 48%. The mean diurnal variations of the particle number and the gaseous concentrations closely followed the traffic flow rate on both weekdays and weekends (correlation coefficient of 0.86 for particles). The overall conclusion, as to the effect of traffic on concentration levels of pollutant concentration in the vicinity of a major road (about 100 m) carrying traffic of the order of 105 vehicles per day, is that about a 50% increase in traffic flow rate results in similar increases of CO and NOx concentrations and a higher increase of about 70% in particle number concentration.
Article
Motor vehicle emissions usually constitute the most significant source of ultrafine particles (diameter <0.1 μm) in an urban environment. Zhu et al. (J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 2002, accepted for publication) conducted systematic measurements of the concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles in the vicinity of a highway dominated by gasoline vehicle. The present study compares these previous measurements with those made on Interstate 710 freeway in Los Angeles. The 710 freeway was selected because more than 25% of the vehicles are heavy-duty diesel trucks. Particle number concentration and size distribution in the size range from 6 to 220 nm were measured by a condensation particle counter and a scanning mobility particle sizer, respectively. Measurements were taken at 17, 20, 30, 90, 150, and 300 m downwind and 200 m upwind from the center of the freeway. At each sampling location, concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and black carbon (BC) were also measured by a Dasibi CO monitor and an Aethalometer, respectively. The range of average concentration of CO, BC and total particle number concentration at 17 m was 1.9–2.6 ppm, 20.3–24.8 μg/m3, 1.8×105–3.5×105/cm3, respectively. Relative concentration of CO, BC and particle number decreased exponentially and tracked each other well as one moves away from the freeway. Both atmospheric dispersion and coagulation appears to contribute to the rapid decrease in particle number concentration and change in particle size distribution with increasing distance from the freeway. Average traffic flow during the sampling periods was 12,180 vehicles/h with more than 25% of vehicles being heavy-duty diesel trucks. Ultrafine particle number concentration measured at 300 m downwind from the freeway was indistinguishable from upwind background concentration. These data may be used to estimate exposure to ultrafine particles in the vicinity of major highways.
Article
Characterization of the elemental and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compositions of urban air was undertaken at three major sites in Brisbane, Australia. 17 elements and 16 US EPA priority PAHs were quantified at the sites. The most commonly detected elements in the TSP and PM2.5 fractions were Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Si, Sn, Sr and Zn. Compared to the two other sites, PM2.5 was found to contain higher concentrations of Zr, Mo, V, Al, Mn and Sr at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) site. In contrast, the Woolloongabba sampling site, which was highly influenced by the vehicular emission and local industrial activities, has higher concentrations of Co, Sn, Cu, Zn and Mg while ANZ site has significantly lower concentration levels of most elements than the other sites; possibly due to the shielding effect of the nearby bush and forest. NAP, PHE, ANT, FLT, PYR and CRY were the most widespread PAHs found in all sites. But only QUT and Woolloongabba bus platform sites had detectable levels of the most carcinogenic US EPA PAH, BAP. The multi-criteria decision making procedures, Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and Geometrical Analysis for Interactive Aid (GAIA) were used to rank the air samples and to identify the sources of the pollutants. Thus Woolloongabba bus platform was ranked as the most polluted site on the basis of the elemental and PAH compositions of its air samples while Woolloongabba bus platform and QUT sites were ranked as the worst polluted sites in terms of PAHs and PM2.5 elemental contents, respectively.
Article
Epidemiological studies have consistently shown an association between particulate air pollution and not only exacerbations of illness in people with respiratory disease but also rises in the numbers of deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory disease among older people. Meta-analyses of these studies indicate that the associations are unlikely to be explained by any confounder, and suggest that they represent cause and effect. We propose that the explanation lies in the nature of the urban particulate cloud, which may contain up to 100000 nanometer-sized particles per mL, in what may be a gravimetric concentration of only 100-200 micrograms/m3 of pollutant. We suggest that such ultra-fine particles are able to provoke alveolar inflammation, with release of mediators capable, in susceptible individuals, of causing exacerbations of lung disease and of increasing blood coagulability, thus also explaining the observed increases in cardiovascular deaths associated with urban pollution episodes. This hypothesis is testable both experimentally and epidemiologically.
Article
Chronic airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion, reversible airway constriction, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness are important pathogenic features of asthma. We found that diesel exhaust particles (DEP) instilled intratracheally and repeatedly to mice (once/week for 16 weeks) caused marked infiltration of inflammatory cells, proliferation of goblet cells, increased mucus secretion, respiratory resistance, and airway constriction. Eosinophils in the submucosa of the proximal bronchi and medium bronchioles increased eightfold following instillation. Eosinophil infiltration was significantly suppressed by pretreatment with polyethyleneglycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD). Bound sialic acid concentrations in bronchial alveolar lavage fluids, an index of mucus secretion, increased with DEP, but were suppressed by pretreatment with PEG-SOD. Goblet cell hyperplasia, airway narrowing, and airway constriction also were observed with DEP. Respiratory resistance in the DEP-group to acetylcholine was 11 times higher than in controls, and the increased resistance was significantly suppressed by PEG-SOD pretreatment. These findings suggest that DEP and/or oxygen radicals derived from DEP cause bronchial asthma in mice.